From: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 09:51:12 +0800
To: Ryan Lackey <ryan@systemics.ai>
Subject: Re: e$: crypto-expatriatism
In-Reply-To: <v0401170db219f0b9c52c@[139.167.130.246]>
Message-ID: <v04011711b21a29761c02@[139.167.130.246]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Time for a little air clearing, here...


At 6:22 PM -0400 on 9/7/98, Ryan Lackey wrote:


> (Note: my original message was posted to Cypherpunks, which I consider
> to be substantially different than DBS: had I been posting to DBS, I would
> have included different details...list differentiation is kin of useful,
> it's why the different lists were created in the first place)

Perils of the internet, Ryan, everything is everywhere forever. :-).

That's okay, you didn't sound that much different than you do anywhere
else. That was not perjorative, by the way...


> I never said this.  If you'd like to fabricate/summarize/editorialize,
> please make it clear that that's what you're doing, by using the
>traditionally
> accepted editorial convention of square brackets, or some other convention.
> I prefer Chicago Manual of Style, but I'm sure the AP Stylebook is
>acceptable.

Actually, I was quoting *myself*, talking about something you discussed
later, and which crossed paths with the post in question. It might help to
go back and reread the original, in the thread about the cypherpunk
hyperarchive, but, you're excused in the meantime. :-).


> Ian Goldberg isn't involved -- he's working on Zero Knowledge Systems,
> AFAIK, and I wish him luck, but I haven't really spoken to him in months.
>He's
> a Canadian, anyway.

I wasn't talking about *that* Ian. :-). As it is, Ian Grigg has outed
himself on another list already, but he's not the one making expatriate
noise, seeing as he's Australian, and all...

> I haven't mentioned working with anyone else anywhere,
> other than that I'm working for "interesting" clients.  If you know
>otherwise,
> it isn't particularly public knowledge at this point.

Um, yes. And I haven't said anything besides what's publically known.
Certainly *who* you're working for hasn't been revealed yet, and I haven't
done that. Even as much as I hate secrets. :-).


> I'm not breaking US law.  I'm a US citizen.  I pay my taxes, respect US
> law, etc.  It's just that I'm choosing to work on something somewhere other
> than the US, for a variety of reasons.

That's nice to know. Good to hear. See ya when you get back. At least you
haven't made that trip to Antigua or Barbados, or wherever, yet. That, in
my opinion, would be rather silly.

> > And, I wish Vince -- and now, apparently, Ryan -- good luck, whatever
>happens.
>
> Vince formally renounced his citizenship, becoming a citizen of a small
> african country, and intends to remain in Anguilla.  I left the US
> for a while to work on stuff, and to get away from a major US city for
> a while.  I think there's a huge difference here.

Again, marvellous.

> What I have
> done is fundamentally no different than going to Montana to write code
> for a while, other than that it was cheaper and more convenient for me to
> come to Anguilla.

Splendid. At the moment, I'd just barely prefer Anguilla to the North Fork
of the Flathead River myself, but my opinion on the subject is changing...

> (Of course, Vince seems to be doing quite well...)  I just happen to not want
> to go back to the US right now, it's not that I can't if I decide I want
> to at some point.

Again, marvellous. I would just be careful you don't fall in with the wrong
element while you're down there in the World's Best Place for Financial
Cryptography (tm). ;-).

> (who generally does not provide confidential information to people
> who do not like keeping secrets, out of kindness for them)

And, I might add, *you* didn't. :-).

Any information I've revealed on this is public. However, I'm in an
agressively public business, these days, yes? You don't put "Evangelism" in
your business name and expect to hide your light under a bushel basket...

Frankly, I'm only *really* obligated to keep secrets I'm paid to keep,
anymore. Word to the wise, for anyone else out there who wants call me up
and spill the beans. Past obligations will still be honored, of course, but
the rent's gotta be paid, same as it ever was. This includes "keep this
quiet, but..." in email, encrypted or otherwise, followed by This Week's
Business Plan. Frankly, I don't want to hear that stuff anymore unless
there's some remuneration behind it. Game over.

Cheers,
Bob Hettinga


-----------------
Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@philodox.com>
Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'